Two New York men kidnapped an escort and forced her to have sex with multiple men before she escaped by jumping from a sixth-floor window, officials say.Benjamin Gaston, 35, and Johnny Jackson, 53, have pleaded not guilty in the incident, the New York Post reported Friday.Gaston took the woman's cell phone, money and identification when she went to an escort job at an Upper West Side apartment in November, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. told a Manhattan Supreme Court. When the woman

President Park Geun-hye on Monday reasserted the need to transfer broadcasting policies to a new science ministry in what appeared to be a move to pressure the opposition party into accepting the proposal and the broader government restructuring bill it comes under.She also refuted the main opposition Democratic United Party's claim that the move is an attempt to control the broadcasting sector, saying she has no intentions to do so and the law would not permit it."There is no other purpose than

After having the "worst birthday," pop star Justin Bieber cheered himself up by performing at Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England, officials say.While celebrating his 19th birthday Friday, Bieber and his entourage were booted from London club Cirque du Soir after an employee at the club smelled marijuana, The Mirror reported.After the incident, Bieber tweeted "worst birthday," and retreated to his hotel room.A spokesman for the club said the incident was actually over some members of Bieber'

China may hold off tightening monetary policy after growth in services and manufacturing weakened, underscoring challenges for the nation’s leaders as they open the annual session of parliament tomorrow. Expansion in industries including retailing, transport and banking, was the slowest in five months in February, an official survey of purchasing managers showed yesterday. Gauges released two days earlier pointed to manufacturing growth cooling. Premier Wen Jiabao will outline economic policies

North Korea's young leader has riled the U.S. with recent nuclear tests, but Kim Jong Un doesn't really want war with the superpower, just a call from President Barack Obama to chat about their shared love of basketball, according to unlikely diplomat Dennis Rodman, the ex-pro basketball star just back from an improbable visit to the reclusive communist country.“He loves basketball. ... I said Obama loves basketball. Let's start there” as a way to warm up relations between the U.S. and North Kor

Samsung Electronics was placed third among global IT firms in terms of market capitalization last year, according to a report by a local IT policy and research body on Monday.The National IT Industry Promotion Agency said that Samsung rose to third place, up from fifth in 2011. Apple Inc. was ranked No. 1 and Google was No. 2.The agency obtained the data using Reuters Knowledge, a Web-based information and analytics tool.Microsoft and IBM, which ranked second and third in 2011, respectively, too

Swiss voters voiced their anger at perceived corporate greed Sunday by approving a plan to boost shareholders' say on executive pay.Some 67.9 percent of voters backed the “Rip-Off Initiative,” with 32.1 percent against, according to the official count broadcast by Swiss public television station SRF.The outcome of the referendum was considered a foregone conclusion after opinion polls in recent months showed strong public support for the initiative.News last month that the outgoing board chairma

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was hospitalized Sunday over an apparent stomach infection that has ailed her for days, a rare instance of ill health sidelining the long-reigning monarch. Elizabeth will have to cancel a visit to Rome and other engagements as she recovers, and outside experts said she may have to be rehydrated intravenously. Buckingham Palace said the 86-year-old queen had experienced symptoms of gastroenteritis and was being examined at London's King Edward VII Hospital _ the first

South Korea's consumer prices increased at a slower pace in February, with the growth rate staying in the 1-percent range for the fourth straight month, a government report showed Monday.The country's consumer prices index rose 1.4 percent on-year in February, compared with a 1.5 percent on-year advance in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it grew 0.3 percent.The on-year figure marked the fourth straight month that the price growth has remaine

Minister of Future Planning and Science nominee Kim Jeong-hoon withdrew his nomination on Monday saying he was unable to “maintain the will to sacrifice” himself for his country.“Looking at the opposition party that refuses to meet with the president and the chaos in the political arena, I was unable to maintain the will to sacrifice (myself) for my country,” Kim said in a press conference at the National Assembly. On Sunday, after floor leaders’ talks on the government reorganization plans fell

A baby born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now 2 and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infectionThere's no guarantee the child will remain healthy, although sophisticated testing uncovered just traces of the virus' genetic material still lingering. If so, it would mark only the world's second reported cure.Specialists say Sunday's announcement, at a major AIDS m

A Texas man who called 911 when an armed homeowner interrupted his burglary was sentenced to seven years of probation and 200 hours of community service.State District Judge Craig Towson also sentenced Christopher Moore, 41, of Bedford, to pay a $2,000 fine Monday after he pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported Tuesday.Moore was accused of breaking into a Springtown home around 12:30 a.m. Dec. 4 and the 38-year-old homeowner said he and his wife

Animal advocates say they are looking for homes for six dozen cats seized from a California home that reeked of urine and litter. The Riverside Press-Enterprise said animal control officers with a warrant swept down on the home in Menifee in the Sun City area last Thursday."The smell was horrendous," officer Monique Middleton told the newspaper. Middleton works for the non-profit Animal Friends of the Valleys, which provides animal control services for Menifee.The officer said the home's owner,

South Korea expressed its official support for a move by the U.N.'s top human rights body to set up its first in-depth investigation into widespread human rights violations in North Korea, a Seoul official said Thursday. Kim Bong-hyun, Seoul's deputy foreign minister for global affairs, told the 22nd session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that South Korea will "actively" support a resolution by the European Union that calls for the U.N. council to begin the in-depth investigation of

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Jacob Lew to be Treasury secretary, affirming President Barack Obama's choice of a budget expert at a time when Congress and the White House are at odds over sharp government spending cuts.The vote was 71 to 26 to support the nomination. A total of 25 Republicans and independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont voted against Lew's confirmation.Lew, 57, had most recently served as Obama's chief of staff. He succeeds Timothy Geithner, who completed a tumultuous four-year

World powers offered broader concessions than ever to Iran in attempts Wednesday to keep alive diplomatic channels that seek to rein in the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and prevent it from building an atomic weapon.The offer was hailed by Saeed Jalili, Iran's top official at diplomatic talks in Kazakhstan, who said it represented a “turning point” by world powers to compromise on Tehran's uranium enrichment program after years of delicate negotiations that nearly dissolved last June.The pr

Chuck Hagel started his work Wednesday as U.S. secretary of defense, pledging to accelerate Washington's renewed focus on the Asia-Pacific region and promote partnerships with other nations on global security."I've always believed that America's role in the world is one that -- and we've had variations of this throughout history -- has been one that should engage the world," Hagel said, addressing Pentagon officials at its building on the outskirts of Washington.The former Republican senator's c

South Korea's industrial output shrank for the first time in five months in January amid worries that industrial activities might be slowing amid toughened economic conditions, a government report showed Thursday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries dropped 1.5 percent last month from a month earlier. It is the first on-month output contraction since August.The output still expanded 7.3 percent compared with a year e

Slovenia's parliament ousted Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his conservative government Wednesday, while designating a financial expert from the opposition to try to form a new administration.The moves come amid corruption allegations against Jansa and growing public anger over the struggling economy and austerity measures that have seen living standards fall and unemployment rise.The 55-33 no-confidence vote named Alenka Bratusek as prime minister-designate. Bratusek, 42, would be the first fem

프로농구 서울 SK 나이츠가 구단 역사상 최초의 정규시즌 우승을 앞두고 위한 초읽기에 들어갔다.현재 여덟 경기를 남겨두고 있는 SK는 남은 경기에서 3경기만 승리하면 자력으로 우승을 확정 지을 수 있다.비록 26일 경기에서 디펜딩 챔피언 안양 KGC에게 일격을 맞기는 했지만 2위 울산 모비스와는 5.5 경기, 3위 인천 전자랜드와는 무려 10.5경기 차이로 여유 있게 앞서 있어 이변이 없는 이상 무난히 정규시즌 우승을 확정 지을 전망이다.SK는 안양에게 패하기 전까지 11연승을 달렸는데 이는 팀 역사상 최장기록이다. 또한 현재 홈 19연승을 달리고 있는데, 이는 KBL 역사상 최장기간에 걸쳐 작성된 것이다.SK는 올 시즌 포인트 가드로 변신한 김선형과 득점능력이 뛰어난 외국인선수 애런 헤인즈를 필두로 해 KBL 1위인 한 경기 평균 77.1점을 득점하며 매서운 공격력을 뽐내고 있다.강력한 신인왕 후보인 최부경, MVP출신에서 든든한 롤플레이어로 변신한 박상오 외에 주희정, 김민수 등